Let's be Pirates
by drizzledrops
Summary: A piratestuck au. After their hometown is destroyed, brothers Dave and Dirk Strider each go to check out the two rival ships that caused this mess-and when both are spotted by the two captains of the separate ships, they are each accepted into the ranks of a pirate crew. Now they have to deal with all sorts of crazy shenanigans.
1. Into the Crusader

**A/N: Hello there, and welcome to the next fanfic of mine! This is a collab I did with Sapphire_sky on AO3 and it's also being posted there. Anywwavves, enjoy!**

 **Chapter 1: Into the Crusader**

 _EASTERN COAST OF SKAIA, 01:45. May 5._

The morning is still young. That means you still have time before the ship arrives. You quickly dart out of your bedroom, grabbing your palm-sized compass before throwing yourself into the nighttime air. You swore it almost smelled like smo- oh god.

Smoke rose into the air as cannons fired at your hometown. But why were they attacking _here_? What did they have to gain? "Dirk! Wake up!" You only hear muffled groans. "Wake up! The town's under fire!" With that, your twin was by your side within the minute. "What do they want?"

"I dunno. But they're willing to do anything to get it. C'mon!" The two of you race into the fire, and towards the two massive ships that lay in Port Carne-vale, setting the city ablaze. "You catch up to the Culler and I'll get the Crusader, aight?" Dirk nods to you before sprinting towards the larger of the two ships.

He'd better not hurt himself out there.

You hear cackling behind you, and turn to be face to face with a legend. First mate of the Crusader. Leader in the Prospit plunder of a year or so before. The infamous Terezi Pyrope. The blind prophet.

"Ey, Vris! Look who we've got here! Someone's still alive!" A girl in a captain's hat steps out from behind a structure's corner, her grin revealing a row of teeth filed to points. Vriska Serket. Captain of the Crusader. You're quite overwhelmed, to say the very least.

"Hey, kid. What's your name? And why're you alive when the city clearly shouldn't be?" You're too awestruck to do anything but choke on your own words. Two of the most prominent rulers of the sea, and they're talking to some lowly landweller like you!

That is, you're awestruck until you recall local legends.

The crusader doesn't leave survivors. You swallow a lump in your throat, reaching a hand out to shake. "Strider. Dave strider. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Serket." Surprisingly enough, the captain actually shakes your hand, turning to her first mate. "This one seems like a keeper, aye? Quite willing to take orders, aren't you, boy?" All you can do is nod, keeping the flawless poker face that your family is known for.

"Then welcome to the Crusader's crew, Strider." And with that, the notorious pirate whacked you in the back of the head with the flat of her sword, all as Pyrope cackled.

* * *

 _OFF THE COAST OF CARNE-VALE, 08:14. May 5_

You wake up with a throbbing headache, looking around confusedly before you remember the events of earlier in the morning. The room around you was walled with stunning stained wood, parts of it carved to elaborately depict the Crusader's past adventures.

It was breathtaking.

"Good nap?" The ship's captain leaned against the doorway, hat tipped to cover her eyes. "Yeah, I gue-"

"Fantastic. You'll start work after you eat something. Be prepared. Nep'll show you the ropes.." The captain- now _your_ captain, exits the room, leaving you to speak with a short, curly haired girl with the tail of a cat.

"You're Strider, I purrsume?" You take a moment before remembering the cat girl from letters and local news. "Nepeta Leijon? Probably the best fencer in all of the Alternian?"

"You know who I am?" Leijon grinned, seemingly surprised. "But of course. And it's an honour to meet you at last," You smirk and shake Nep's hand, "so you're the one showing me around?"

"Yep! I'm sure you'll like the crew, too!"

"From what I've heard, they're the most badass group of pirates in all the seas."

"You've heard right!" The auburn haired female stood up straighter, grinning.

"Fantastic. So do I get more piratey clothes? Or maybe a sword? A sword would be awesome." You clutch your compass in your hand, its metal warming from your prolonged contact with it.

"Hold your hoofbeasts, landweller. We're actually heading to purrt right now. Equihiss'll get you fixed right up witH one of his masterpieces! We'll be there at sunset, if my timing's correct. But furst, I have to get you used to the ship! As of now, you're an official member of the Crusaders!"

* * *

 _ALTERNIAN OCEAN, 16:13. May 5_

You take a whiff of your surroundings, scents painting a picture around you instead of merely seeing things with eyes. The fact that yours had been burnt red since the accident didn't bother you that much. It was your favorite color, after all! Besides, sniffing around and tasting things suited you much better than just plain seeing.

The room you were in had elegantly polished wood with medallions and things on the walls depicting adventures of the Crusader - or, as Vriska liked to call it, the Crus8er. Scenting the one nearest to you, you noted that it was a painting of the ship in a fierce battle with the Culler. Crusader appeared to be winning in the painting, you concluded from the blurry image of it you saw in your mind. And rightfully so, why the fuck would a painting of it losing be in here anyway? Vris wouldn't have allowed that, of course.

Another scent, a familiar one, entered your senses. It was Serket herself, who you were literally just thinking about. How ironic! She got closer and her aroma got heavier until she sat down in the expensive chair next to yours and spoke.

"What do you think so far about the newest addition to the crew, TZ?" The Scorpio asked. You could tell she must be looking you right in the eye, even though you couldn't exactly see.

"I think he really does have potential to be a great pirate." You say, and that was the truth.

"Well, we wouldn't want that potential to be wasted!" she replied, winking. "I know Strider could be a valuable asset in battle. He seems to have the energy, the strength, and the charisma we need."

"Plus, he survived our attack on the town." you quickly add in. She nods.

"So we're going to keep our expectations of him high. We don't admit just _anyone_ into the crew, you know. They've got to have a number of good characteristics for me to even consider it. As for people who turn out to be failures, well… let's just say I'm not afraid to bring out the plank."

* * *

 _FEW HOURS AWAY FROM DERSE'S PORT, 17:09. May 5_

You've heard from Kanaya that Serket had taken on a new crew member. She hadn't done so since she decided to be kind enough to admit you and Nepeta to the Crusader.

But that had been months ago. Back in Lion City, off of Skaia's northern coast. When she took control of the place you were born.

This kid must have really been charming in order for Vriska to even consider admitting him. You'd have to have a talk with the lucky bastard later, but, for now, you were stuck watching the waves roll by as you manned the crow's nest. You knew for sure that you wouldn't be seeing any sort of land for a while, but it was important you watched for any passing ships.

Just in case.

You looked down at the deck, struggling to see past the wind whipping hair into your eyes. What you _could_ see was Nep, showing the new kid around the deck. She soon looks up and points to you, saying something you're too far away to hear. You climb out of the nest, sliding down some rope in order to get to the deck.

You're pretty much the only one who can do so without seriously fucking up your hands, and you suppose that's why Serket assigned you best duty.

You land right behind the newbie, and give him a tap on the shoulder. He spins around, not looking surprised. Dammit. Fucking stoic new kid.

"You must be Karkles. I'm Dave. Nice to meet you." He holds out his hand to shake.

Other than the ridiculous nickname, you think you can see what Serket saw in the kid.

Strong. Good worker. Charming. Good for publicity as well as negotiation. And his looks could be compared to those of a siren.

This Dave kid could be _really_ useful, if Serket and Pyrope played their cards right.

So of course you shook his hand. The landweller chuckled, and you tilt your head, confused. "Actually, out of the whole crew, you're the one I least expected to actually shake my hand. "And why the fuck might that be?" You inquire, rolling your eyes to the ocean floor and back.

"That's why."

"Well fuck you too."

"Ehh... Maybe later. If you're nice enough."

"Eugh! You know that's not what I fucking meant!" You feel your face go red in frustration, but you refuse to give the kid that satisfaction, so you just stalk away, before being called back by Nepeta. "Karkitty! I've got to start working on Strider's room. Could you watch him until we get to port? Take him up to the crow's nest or something."

"Ugh. Fine, Nepeta." You turn back to the obviously smug kid, frowning. "Okay, asshole. First things first, no smart remarks or I will throw you off this goddamn ship, got it?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Secondly, you'd better be a good climber or else it'll be pretty hard for you to get up to the nest," you gesture upwards, towards the nest, grabbing onto one of the lower ropes of the web that stretched from the nest to the deck. Once you were about a third of the way up, you looked down to see Dave almost caught up with you on the web.

You mutter under your breath, climbing at top speed until you reached the top, pulling yourself into the crow's nest. About thirty seconds later, Strider was in the nest as well, breathing heavily. You smirk, even though you knew your advantage was unfair. You knew you'd won.

Instead, Strider looks over the edge, seemingly mesmerized by the view of the open water. "You guys get to see this every day?"

"Yeah. Just the ocean. You'll get used to it eventually."

* * *

 _NEAR THE DERSE'S PORT, 18:32. May 5_

You stare off the side of the ship, captivated by every little detail. Like how the sinking sun reflected practically every wave. "You guys get to see this every day?" You inquire, turning back to Vantas.

"Yeah. Just the ocean. You'll get used to it eventually." You seriously doubt that, but say nothing on the topic, once again focusing on the epic image before you.

Some massive whale was flipping its tail around, creating a massive wave that spread in all directions.

"Strider, you're fawning over a whale."

"No I'm not," you say, pouting.

"Yes you are. Dork."

"Dork means whale dick."

"Well then you're a fucking whale dick. It doesn't make much of a difference."

You raise an eyebrow, leaning back against the wood of the crow's nest. The Vantas stands up, remarkably keeping his balance. "WE'RE COMING UP ON DERSE! BE PREPARED TO UNBOARD OR WHATEVER!"

Immediately, the ship's crew began moving, securing ropes and lowering sails. Even Nepeta came out to help with preparations. The only one not working was the one at the ship's wheel, keeping the vessel on course. The howling wind made Serket look even more intimidating, whether she realized it or not.

"Don't tell me you're mooning over Vriska, now," Vantas whined, smirking nonetheless. "You know I'm not. Just wondering..."

"Wondering what, exactly?"

"She actually tells all you guys what to do? Like, commands or whatever? Because you seem stubborn as hell."

"Well, she _is_ the captain. And we all listen to her. Except TZ, who I presume dominates in more places than one."

"Oh my fucking god, Karkat."

"What? Just making a point."

"Suuuuure."

"I was!"

You raise an eyebrow, saying nothing.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"You know what? You win. I'm not gonna argue this anymore."

"Ha."

"Shut up."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Oh my holy fuck. Aren't we getting near the shore, anyways?" You sigh, smirking. Vantas could be amusing to keep around. You follow as he starts to swing himself over the side of the crow's nest.

Climbing down the ropes was definitely easier than going up them. It only took a few seconds- and some rope burn- to reach the deck. Vantas' hands remained quite unburnt. This bothered you, for some reason unbeknownst.

Vriska started yelling a bunch of words you barely understand, but you think you hear "starboard" somewhere in there. You're sure you'd get used to all the pirate talk eventually, but now was not that time. "What'd she just say?" You look at Karkat, confused.

"The fuck am I supposed to know? She talks bullshit when she's driving all the time. No one understands it at all. You'll get used to it." Vantas just shrugs. "Come on, we're docking to the right."

"And how do you that, exactly?"

"Learning to interpret random bullshit...? And it's not actually my first time here-" Vantas was cut off by the ship jerking to a stop. He just mumbled things under his breath.

"We're here?"

"Nooooo, we're still out in the middle of the fucking Alternian." Karkles rolled his eyes, and you show him the best of phalanges before anyone else would care to look.


	2. Into the Culler

**A/N: I just wanted to say that we have some good ideas for this story but me and Saph happen to be co-presidents of the procastination club...whoops. Enjoy this chapter**

 **Chapter 2: Into the Culler**

 _PORT OF CARNE-VALE, 01:45. May 5_

You are woken up by your brother's call and immediately smell smoke. Groaning, you get up from your bed and leave your room. You then run up to Dave, seeing cannons and fire almost everywhere. The two of you quickly make an agreement-he'll check out the Crusader while you go after the Culler.

After sprinting towards the said massive ship docked on the coast of your hometown, you notice a guy with glasses and a purple streak in his hair standing nearby. Eridan Ampora, first mate aboard the Culler. You've heard about him and some of the others on local news and such. They were supposed to be ruthless killers, hence the name of the ship, but you weren't afraid of them at all really.

He spots you and walks over, stopping and inspecting you from your feet all the way up to your anime shades, while you kept your famous poker face.

"Fef, I think you might want to check this guy out!" He called. A few minutes later a girl appears by the two of you. She was wearing a black suit streaked with fuchsia and a pirate hat. Must be Feferi Peixes, the Culler's well-known captain. Related to the Condesce.

"What's your name?" Peixes asks, walking over to stand directly in front of you, next to Eridan.

"Dirk. Dirk Strider."

"Hmm." She thinks for a moment, then reaches out her hand for you to shake. "Pleased to meet you! Welcome to the crew, Strider."

You casually shake her hand, doing your best to keep on an expressionless face. Eridan was scowling next to the grinning form of Feferi, but you decide to ignore him for now. In the end, her decision was final, not his.

She leads you into the Culler with Ampora behind her and you follow, staring at the ship that would now be your new home. Carne-Vale, your hometown, was pretty much gone now, but you were leaving your old, boring life behind to become a pirate. From now on things would never be the same.

You just hoped you'd see Dave again sometime

* * *

 _DOCKED AT CARNE-VALE, 01:56. May 5_

As you hand Strider off to Aradia, you make your way up a flight of stairs towards your quarters. You tried to keep it as visually appealing as possible, but the reek of fish always seems to come through anyway. It was fishy, if you do say so yourself.

You begin to ask yourself why you actually you'd let this Dirk kid join your crew. He'd just seemed... you don't know how to put it. Desperate? No, that wasn't a good word. How about... willing. Yeah, that seemed good enough.

He seemed like he was willing and ready to take orders from someone. A good quality, especially in a member of the Culler's crew. You'd have a lot of explaining to do when you find the Empress's Revenge. Specifically of why you'd broken a pact not to take on any new crew members. There'd been a document signing and everything.

Overall, you were pretty sure Serket, Mindfang, _and_ your mum were gonna be shella pissed. Whoops. Well, you can't just kick the Strider boy off of the Culler altogether. He'd spread rumors if you let him off alive , but you weren't really in a culling mood after bombarding an entire city.

The Crusader had left port a while ago; before you realized that you needed to talk to Vriska, and fast. The last thing you'd want your forgetfulness to lead to is an all out war of dragons and horrorterrors. That would be a pain in the glubbing ass.

You ran a hand along the much eroded wall, grinning at the gooey wetness that remained on your fingers afterwards. You practically leap out of your quarters, facing the crew. "LOWER THE SAILS! WE'RE GOING UNDER! YOU LANDWELLERS BETTA HEAD INSIDE!"

After a minute or so, everyone but you was safely below deck. You grin, pushing the steering wheel downwards, sending the Culler straight towards the ocean floor.

* * *

 _OFF THE COAST OF CARNE-VALE, 04:37. May 5_

You emerge into the deck some time after the ship's arrival to the surface following it's long plunge into the ocean. Megido had said that apparently the captain could breathe underwater due to some crazy condition relating to her family and had this gigantic sea monster she tended to underwater.

Because of the misfortune of you (and the rest of the crew) simply having lungs, the two hours it had taken her to do whatever shit she was doing with that strange-named creature and get the Culler back up to where it was now was mostly spent either loitering or working inside.

You didn't want to admit it but you were slightly disappointed when she called out the order to go in. From all those pirate/adventure movies that were made it seemed like all the action happened on deck and outside. The little experience you had gained in piracy by now told you otherwise.

There was plenty going on when pirates weren't fighting each other. Of course there was cleaning done mostly by the lower ranking members but there was also managing food and other cargo, fixing up rooms and furniture as well as adding decor, and contemplating battle strategies and plans for what to do next. Though the latter, which also happened to be the most appealing, was done mostly by Ampora.

Said first mate of the ship was on the deck as well, looking around and making sure everyone was on task. Which you clearly weren't. "Wwhat are you doing, Strider?"

"Nothing." you reply casually. His aura of aristocratic-ness seemed to make a few of the crew members flinch whenever he passed by, you noticed. But that was not true for you; in fact you couldn't care less if he watching you or not.

"There are plenty of things you could be doing so wwhy don't you freakin get to it. Fef didn't let you join this creww for nothing." He stopped talking and glanced at the large amount of seaweed and other things from the ocean scattered around the deck. "You should probably go clean that up wwith Tavvros." He pointed to a guy with dark brown hair that was shaved on the sides who was trying to tidy up the mess with a broom.

"Sure thing." After getting your cleaning materials from inside the ship, you return to the deck to start your task. Ampora informed you that it should be spotless by the time they got to Derse (which would be at the end of the day) so it would look intimidating to the members of the Crusader that would most likely be there.

Wait, the _Crusader_? You know that's where Dave went, maybe you'll see him! This cleaning shit you'll be doing for the next five hours will actually be worth it. Even with this douchebag known as the 'ruthless', 'fierce', and 'courageous' first mate yelling away at you and poor Tavros (who had already been doing it for about half an hour) with his stupid wavy accent.

It'll be a miracle if you even complete the full cleaning shift without pissing off high and mighty Ampora, though. Or at least get this huge deck 'spotless' with only one other person to help you and supplies that aren't even that good.

That, and the fact that this mess was caused by the captain herself.

You and your bro had better get a good—no— _fantastic_ reunion.

* * *

 _DOCKED AT LION CITY, 07:26. May 5_

The sea smelled like it always did: salt and water. Every day. Salt and water. Literally no other smells. That was, except for the seaweed or dead animal that dropped in every so often. You much preferred the smell of a rotting fish carcass over the stupid salt. That was one of the few downsides of being a pirate, you suppose.

The Culler was nearing Lion City, which, personally, you think is one of your favorite places of all time.

The newly rebuilt Lion City, now complete with canals and tiny boats to get around everywhere, was a quite exciting place to visit. It posed a challenge when attempting to snatch an item of two from the shops, but that was all a part of the fun.

The constant hum of instruments was a nice touch as well, and the complex melodies left no corner of the entire town silent.

Lion City was close enough to Derse, and the Crusader, that Feferi had decided that it'd make a nice pit stop. And, by pit stop, she'd made it clear that you were to steal anything valuable you caught sight of. Fortunately, the first shiny thing you see is the blade of a sword in the window of a nice looking armoury. You keep your hair tied back and a bandana around your mouth and nose, in case anyone were to try and recognise you.

You stroll casually into the store, picking up the sword by its handle. You hear the storekeeper yelling at you in some language you can't understand, so you chuck a dagger at him, making sure that the blade kept the old guy attached to the wall by his shirt. Wouldn't want to kill him. Yet.

A brief spark of recognition flickered across the man's face before you whack him in the back of the head with the dull end of the sword you'd decided to claim. He practically crumpled to the floor, mumbling your name before going out. You're out of the store within the minute, but not before snatching the good sized bag that laid on the guy's desk.

You shake it, grinning as you heard the familiar clang of coins. Peixes'd be proud.

A ruckus erupts from down the way, sending you paddling as hard as you could back to the Culler to drop off your findings. You tug on a rope, launching yourself onto the ship's deck, where some poor, sorry weirdos were scrubbing away, being barked at by none other than the douchemaster overlord. "Hey, Megido! Wwhere'vve you been? This deck's in desperate need of a cleanin'."

You roll your eyes, dropping the sack of gold coins into his hand. That sure shuts him up.

Now, what to do with the sword. You suppose the new recruit could use a blade of his own. "Ampora, where's the new guy? I've got something to give to him."


	3. Wounded, Blinded

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait for this chapter, but I went on a vacation for a week, and then I was busy with other things as well as writing this. Now; here you have it; chapter 3! It's a pretty long chapter, and I hope it was worth waiting for!**

 **Chapter 3: Wounded; Blinded**

 _DOCKED AT DERSE, 18:30. May 5_

The Crusader was fast approaching the dock at the island of Derse, so you didn't have much time. You had to find the only other person on the ship who had more power than you—Vriska—and tell her about your plans to go visit Pyralspite's forest on the island.

Quickly going down the halls of the ship, you sniffed her out on the floor just below the deck. Right where she should be, getting ready to start yelling out her orders and steering the ship. "Terezi?" She asks. "We're five minutes away from Derse, you know."

"I know. I was going to alert you of the fact that I will be going to visit a certain magical dragon on the island."

"Okay." She said simply, seeming to not have a problem with that at all. Vriska ordered everyone on the ship around constantly... Except for you. At first you thought it was just because you were the first mate, second in command, but you were beginning to think it was something more.

With that strange eye of hers you knew was hiding under her eyepatch she could make just about anyone do anything she wanted. That, judging from past events, included you. But the problem was that no one in the entire planet (except for a select few) knew about this strange ability of hers, meaning that they had no idea how dangerous she _really_ was.

So overall, there had to be something big going on for her to let you do whatever you pleased.

"Just be sure to come back to port in about an hour!" She called out after you had already started walking away. Like you didn't know about how to manage your time. But alas, it was still nice to have a reminder.

After the ship docked and you climbed down the exit and onto the sand of Derse's beach, you sniffed out Nepeta tying the ship down with the help of someone else nearby. "Going to visit Purralspite?" the girl inquired as you walked by, rolling out the dragon's name with a touch of the sound made by a cat.

"You got it." You say, stopping by her. "I rarely get to see her so it's best to take advantage of the hour that I have today."

"I know what you mean! Back in Lion City I used to have a pet cat named Pounce de Leon, or Pounce for short. She was fun to play and hunt with even though she got tired easily." Nepeta laughed. "But when the town got torn apart, she died along with most effuryone. I still miss her, even though if you hadn't done that stuff to my hometown I wouldn't be the furocious purrate I am today.

"Sometimes I had work or other things to do which meant less time with Pounce. Soon I had so much things to do—training, school, and the like—that all the free time I had was hard-earned and spent with her."

"I'm sorry about your loss."

 _(TIMESKIP)_

You walk through the large-ish forest in the middle of Derse, many scents wafting through your nose which showed you the many plants and animals nearby. With your strong senses, it wasn't very long before you found her.

Sure enough, Pyralspite was curled up in the branches of a large tree. You figured it must get boring for her out here so you tried to visit often. Not only that, but Vriska wanted you to keep in touch with her as she was, as quoted by Serket herself, 'a valuable asset in battle that could wreak havoc on our opponents including the Culler.'

Well it didn't help much that they had the terror known as Gl'bgolyb on their side. You've heard that she could kill people across the world by raising her voice above a whisper. Not like it mattered, because the Crusader was going to come out on top!

Quickly climbing up the tree to your dragon friend, you sit down on a thick, sturdy branch by her and she wraps one of her large, silvery white wings around you. * _Terezi! Hi!*_ you hear her voice in your head as she telepathically communes with you. In response you rub the scales on her back, right where she likes it best. * _Want to go for a ride?*_ she asks, happily laying down while you sit, rubbing the top of her head.

You grin, nodding. Flights with Pyralspite were always fun, especially when you were younger. The two of you were inseparable back then. Now, since you had a crew to see to, things were different.

She gets into a position where you can easily get onto her back, which you do, and she takes off. Pyralspite soared above the treetops to the point where if your eyes weren't burnt, you could probably be able to see the whole island. Then she suddenly stops and hovers in the air. * _The Culler!*_ an alarming message comes into your mind. * _Oh boy, Take me to the port.*_ you send to her, and she does so, speeding downwards.

They interrupted your time with your dragon, which slightly, no, _really_ pisses you off. What could they want this time? As you got closer to the ground, you realized something else—it was also time to fight.

* * *

 _DERSE, 18:56. May 5_

As Serket barked out some orders, Vantas took a hold of your wrist, practically dragging you to where Nepeta stood, tying the ship to the dock. "Hey, Zahhak. You've got to make this asshole" Karkat gestured to you "a sword. Captain's orders." So called Zahhak crossed his arms. "Only if you make an attempt to censor your foul mouth, Karkat."

"Ugh. Just make the idiot a damn sword or Serket'll be pissed. No one wants to deal with her bitching this late at night, especially when we've got a newbie."

"However much I do not appreciate your use of vulgarity, I will make this new addition a sword. If you'd both follow me, please." Equius Zahhak begins to lead you down a series of winding stone roads, stopping only when he reached a shop of average size, opening the door for you and Karkles to enter.

The entire room smelled like smoke and iron, leaving terrifying images to come bubbling back from the depths of your memory. You cover your ears, trying, however unsuccessfully, to keep the sharp clank of swords and the sounds of muffled shrieks from your mind. You can tell someone's giving you a funny look, but you're far too occupied in being haunted by your past to be paying any attention.

You finally force yourself out of your vision, looking up to find two quite concerned looking members of the Crusaders looking down at you. You don't even remember sitting down.

"Strider, you alright?"

"Yeah, just reminded of some freaky past shit."

"Awesome. Now get your ass of the filthy floor and let Equius ask you some goddamn sword questions." You let Vantas help you up, brushing some of the ash and dust off of your ass before turning to Equius. "Ask away, Zahhak."

The blacksmith then asks you a series of questions about what kind of blade you'd like, having you try out a few swords, all of which were far too lightweight for you to use. As you zone out, you catch a glimpse of a lightly colored object. You head towards it, ignoring the sounds of protest from both Equius and Karkat.

"Excuse me, you can't touch tha-"

You pick up the sword, switching it between your hands before holding it up, observing the way the light bounces off of the nearly white blade. The weight was just right, and the balance point is just where you'd like it to be. It was a beautiful two handed sword, complete with a bunch of fancyass engravings on the hilt.

"I'll take this one." You say, leaving no room for further discussion. In reply to the incomprehensible mumbling of Zahhak, you shrug, sliding the sword into its sheath, slinging the whole thing over your shoulder, so that your weapon rested at a nice place on your hip.

Karkat quickly led you out of the shop, muttering when he caught sight of three people, seemingly about your age, chatting as they walked down the roads. You would have ignored them completely had you not recognised a face. "Rose?"

One of the three, a blonde with nearly violet eyes, turns her head, corners of her mouth turning up when she caught sight of you.

You hadn't seen your cousin since your parents' burial, which had been years ago. Same with Roxy, who you'd failed to notice earlier. Roxy was a good two years older than you and your brother, giving her the unofficial leaderly position in the ragtag quartet of cousins. You'd never seen the other kid before in your life, so he was left looking utterly confused when the two females both speed-walked over to you.

"Dave! How've you been?" Roxy grins, while Rose just looks back and forth from Karkat to you, raising an eyebrow and smirking. "Strider, who the fuck are these people and why the hell do you know them?" Vantas chimed in, crossing his arms and looking utterly baffled.

"Roxy, Rose, this is Karkat. Karkat, these are my cousins, Rose and Roxy."

"Pleasure to meet you."

"Hi!"

Both of the Lalondes shook Vantas's hand, Rose attempting to initiate conversation while Roxy turned back to you. "So you're a pirate now? That's hella rad!"

You chuckle. "Yeah, I guess it is."

"Is there any way I could go with you? Mom's on buisinessy stuff, so I'm sure she wouldn't mind!"

"Uhh, I dunno. You'd have to get checked out by Vris, and I've heard she rarely takes on new members."

"Woahhhh. Wait a second, Davey. You're tellin' me your captain's _Vriska Serket_?"

"Hell yeah. Got picked up after the ship blew up Carne Vale. Total destruction."

Roxy was just about to babble some more when the other kid they'd been talking to walked over, looking like he was drowning in awkward embarrassment. "'Sup." You nod at the other boy, who looked surprised that you'd even cared about his being there. "What's your name, dude?"

"Jake. Jake English. Pleased to meet your acquaintance, mister...?"

"Strider. Dave Strider."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, mister Strider." You shake English's hand. "I heard a mention of pirates, so I figured I'd might as well join your chat. If you wouldn't mind, that is."

"'Course, dude."

You're about to launch a really interesting conversation with this English kid when cannonfire cuts through the air. Vantas immediately begins sprinting, so you follow, having no idea where you'd be going otherwise. You hear footsteps behind you, but you don't turn around, not wanting to let Karkles out of your sight.

When you reached the dock, you caught sight of the Crusader and another ship, the latter of which was covered in water, with a few strands of seaweed hanging from random places. The Culler. "How the fuck?" Karkat, stares, wide-eyed, at the Culler, which now has a nice new hole in one of its sails.

"I've got no clue, man. Just go with it, I suppose." With that, you redirect your attention to a sword fight between Serket and some douchey looking guy with a purple cape. As they go at it, you notice Terezi and Feferi Piexes, captain of the Culler, talking it out like normal, civilised people. You decide that it'd be best to head in that direction first.

You climb aboard the Crusader, checking every few seconds to make sure that Vantas followed. As you approached the ship's edge, you hear muffled yelps of surprise from behind you. You immediately spin around, eyes widening at the sight of Jake. His mouth was covered by the hand of a girl who hung from a rope, apparently to simply swing down and pluck the kid right from the deck of the Crusader.

You yelled and chased after the girl as she succeeded, tying English to a rope and tugging, sending the kid swinging right into Dirk.

You hear faint noises of confusion coming from the other ship, deciding that you should probably get some kind of note over to the Culler before it left port. Asking Karkles for a dagger or a writing utensil or something, you scratch out a note, tying it to the dagger and hurling it at the other ship, where the blade- and the note- stuck out of the Culler's main mast, where Jake, supervised by your brother, rushed over to it, untying the paper and reading what you'd written.

Dirk looks at the Crusader- for you, and when he finally spots you, you fall to the floor, a sharp, burning pain spreading through your side. You suffer through a few agonising moments before a wave of relief hit, and everything went black.

* * *

 _DOCKED AT DERSE, 19:23. MAY 5_

Almost right after the new addition to the crew threw his note over to the Culler, you became engaged in a rather dangerous scuffle with Captor, who'd somehow managed to get on your ship. You've got really no idea how he even got here unnoticed.

And now you're the idiot that didn't even notice he was there. "You've got a new crew perthon, have you now, Vantath?"

"It's not my fucking ship, Captor. Go interrogate Terezi or Serket or someone."

"You know, that's againtht the agreementh, KK."

"You've got a new member too, Sollux. You can't say anything."

The lispy asshole swung a throwing star towards Strider, who was signaling to the new member of the Cullers. It hit him in the side, and he collapsed a few seconds later.

"What was on that thing, Captor?" You ask, trying and failing to keep your voice steady.

"Heh. Jutht thome p-"

"You know what? I don't even want to know. You've done your stupid job, now get the hell off of my ship."

Sollux's eyes widen at something behind you, and you turn around.

"Your ship? I fear you forget who's captain here, Vantas. Now, as for you," she glanced at Captor before slashing him across the face with her blade. You rush to Strider, trying your best to ignore the wails from behind you.

You only turn back once the screaming stops. You look to see Sollux with his hands over half of his face.

Vriska had completely messed up one of Captor's eyes.

"Now go back to your own fucking boat, Sollux," your captain grinned, kicking the member of the Culler down the ramp and onto Derse's shore, where he coughed and spat out some dirt. You have to admit that was low, even for Vriska.

But you had better things to worry about than the well being of the crew of your enemy ship, especially when one of your own was wounded.

You pull the thankfully non-barbed metal star out of Dave's side, ripping a strip of cloth off of one of your pant legs. You wadded it into a ball, pressing it against the bleeding area. You're suddenly really glad Kanaya took the time to teach you some healing tricks. You had never you'd actually use them.

That asshole had better not be dying. You're not letting anyone die on you. Not again. Not ever again.

* * *

 _DOCKED AT DERSE, 20:51. May 5_

"Wake up, you absolute fucking ass. I hear your goddamn breathing. I know you're alive, now get your shit together. There's no way in hell that that little metal star was fatal. Get the fuck up, Strider."

When you finally regain consciousness, you keep your eyes closed. Best to find out what was going on before showing people you were awake. Because that was totally impeccable logic.

First thing you realize is that your head is resting on something extremely warm, soft, and comfortable. You don't think you actually want to move. You could tell from the voice and the abundance of swears that Karkles was with you, but you didn't know who else.

Wherever you were smelled like cinnamon.

Someone- who you assume to be Vantas himself- brushes a bit of hair out of your face before pressing something into your side, causing a sharp bit of pain to travel upwards. You honestly can't help the wince.

"I know you're awake, asshole."

You open one of your eyes a crack, looking around. "What happened?"

"You may or may not have been in the way of one of Captor's weirdass ninja stars. It was probably covered in a sedative of some kind. I don't fucking know. Serket landed a hit on him, though."

"Cool. You're taking care of me, then?"

"If you wanna call it that, then sure. Pyrope told me to. I'd much rather be sitting up in the crow's nest pretending to watch for ships."

"You sure about that? You seem to be having a fine time here."

Vantas tenses up a little bit. "How long have you been awake?"

"Just a few minutes. Why? You say anything questionable?"

He hesitated, shrugging before looking back down at you. "No."

"Okay then, Karkles." You yawn, shutting your eyes again. "Well, you did a damn good job with the bandaging. Barely hurts at all."

Vantas remains silent, probably thinking about something. What you're currently thinking about is sleep. You're pretty sure Karkat wouldn't mind if you just...

"Strider, you just woke up. Don't fall asleep or anything, yet. You still have to tell me how you know that kid over on the Culler. Then I'll consider letting you sleep in here."

You open your eyes, looking around, making sure not to move anything but your eyes. You were currently in a small-ish room. The walls were carved with pictures of crabs and various other crustaceans. There was a cot that took up about a fifth of the room in the far corner, and, as you'd earlier noted, everything smelled really strongly like cinnamon.

It was a really nice place to wake up to.

"You wanna know how I know Dirk?"

"That's what I said."

"Well, he's actually my brother. We split up when you guys started blowing up my hometown."

This seemed to peak Vantas's interest. "Your family must be really lucky, to have survived that. And to be accepted into both the crews, to add to that."

"My family has a tendency to die really young. I suppose all of our luck is just a life's worth condensed into our meaningless little selves. We never live long enough to accomplish anything, anyways."

"Serket'd be pissed if you died. So I'll try my hardest to keep you from dying," he looked like he wanted to say something more, but silenced himself before saying it.

"Anything else you wanna ask before I can go to sleep?"

"Not that I can think of right now."

"So I can just go to sleep here?"

"If you're going to sleep, do it. Before I change my mind."

"Fine, fine. Just try not to move too much, alright?" As Vantas mumbles an agreement, you shut your eyes, trying to fall asleep. But you couldn't, no matter how warm and soft Karkat's lap may be. You instead pretend to be asleep.

* * *

 _DOCKED AT DERSE, 20:58. MAY 5_

Strider seemed about asleep as the Crusader began to leave port. When he'd been unconscious, you'd told him stories of the old Lion City. Old being before it'd been blown to bits by two certain ships. You decide to continue this storytelling, making sure to call the other human an ass at least once a paragraph.

You could hear that the crew above deck was singing some song or another, so you tap along to that, yawning.

Someone knocked on your door and poked their head inside. Kanaya was looking even more tired than she usually did. This concerned you.

"Hello, Karkat."

"Hi Kanaya."

"Terezi would like to speak with you above deck, if you're not busy," she glances at Dave before back up at you.

"Well, as you can see. I'm pretty occupied."

"Couldn't you just... put him down?"

"No. I told Vriska and Terezi that I'd watch him until he wakes up. So that's what I'm planning on doing."

Maryam sighed, shrugging. "I'll tell her you are asleep, then."

"She can smell lies."

"Not mine," Kanaya smirked, shutting the door as she left. You knew you'd have to speak with the first mate eventually, but you might as well put it off as long as possible. You knew Pyrope would come check if you were asleep as soon as Kanaya told her, so you figure you'd better get started on that.

You shift a bit, allowing you to lay on your back with your arms behind your head. The ceiling didn't look particularly interesting, so you shut your eyes, trying to match your breathing with the breathing of the sleeping human on your lap.

You were almost asleep when the captain kicked open the door, looking particularly pissed. Behind her, she dragged two blonde females with strangely colored eyes. Dave's cousins. "I found a few stowaways, Vantas. If you know them, speak up or they're walking the fucking plank. I'm not in the mood for this bullshit."

You try to wake Strider up. He grunts before sitting up, gasping a bit and biting his lip as he grabs his side. It doesn't take long for him to find Roxy and Rose.

"What the fuck are you guys doing here?"

"Oh, so you _do_ know them," Serket crossed her arms, tapping her foot. "That's _fantastic_ ," the sarcasm dripping from the captain's voice seemed to evaporate, filling the whole room.

"Yeah, I do know them. We're kind of related."

"I could tell, dumbass. You kind of look exactly the same." Serket turned to you now, "and, since you're taking a liking to this newbie, you can take care of the rest of his family as well." You know better than to whine or complain in the captain's presence, so you wait until she leaves to start muttering.

Luckily enough for you, Kanaya's walking right by the door. "Maryam?"

"Yes, Karkat?" She pokes her head in the doorway again, eyes widening at the sight of the two new additions to the room. She stopped looking around once her eyes landed on the younger girl- Rose, was it?- though. She doesn't even look back at you as you start talking.

"Could you watch Rose? Three Striders is way too much for me to handle." You could already tell that Rose and Kanaya were going to be spending a lot of time together, whether you watched Rose and Roxy or not. Might as well speed up the process.

"Uh, yeah. Sure, Karkat. You're Rose, I assume?" Rose and Maryam engage in polite conversation as they leave the room together. You turn back to the two remaining blondes. "Now, what to do with you two. You," you glance at Dave, "need to go to sleep. I'm pretty sure Nep's done with your room, so-"

"Then where am I gonna sleep, mister Vant-ass? I'm assumin' there's only one bed in Davey's room."

You can already tell that this is going to be a long few days.

"Ugh. Fine. Roxy, you can sleep in Dave's room. Strider, you can stay here. I'll ask Leijon if there are any spare rooms or anything."

Strider raised an eyebrow. "Dude, you're just making this more complicated. I'll just sleep on the floor or something. Don't sweat it."

"No way in hell you're sleeping on the floor when you're wounded."

"Well, I guess I'm sleeping with you, then."

You shake your head, circling around to try and find the most comfortable spot on the entire floor. You decide on an area in the corner. When you looked back, Strider was already curled up in your bed and Roxy was nowhere to be seen.

It doesn't take you long at all to fall asleep. It's staying that way that will prove to be more difficult.

* * *

 _DERSE ISLAND, 13:07. October 17_ , six years ago

 _Terezi stood, grinning, her bright red boots planted firmly in the grass below and a bag of coins in her hand. She had just found the loot—Team Charge was going to be so mad. Aradia and Tavros were staying at Derse for the week, meaning they were all going to be FLARPing during that time, both rival teams on one island._

 _Vriska walked over, a wide smile on her face. She was wearing her Marquise Mindfang FLARP getup, complete with a training sword which was slung over her back. "The treasure!" the Serket exclaimed, giving her teammate a high-five. "Just a little more stea-_ borrowing _, and they'll have nothing while we have both their fortune and ours."_

 _"Another victory for the Scourge Sisters." Terezi said enthusiastically. She gripped the bag tighter and looked at it. a sense of pleasure welling up inside her. Coins were valuable things; one could do so much with them. Like get a riding saddle for a certain dragon..._

 _"Next up: the injury/possible death. Very important in our path to fame and even more fortune. We need to kill or at least seriously hurt (preferably kill) Aradia; Megido might be a big threat to our glorious plans, you know. Better safe than sorry! First, I'm going to-" these words from Vriska quickly snapped Terezi out of her short reverie._

 _"Wait, what?! That was never part of the plan. And if it was; then it's not_ our _plan. Just yours. This was just supposed to be a fun roleplaying game between rival teams. I don't think we really need to do something like that." The girl explained, cutting the other off before she could finish. The Pyrope was_ not _going to go through with this. Not now, not ever._

 _She had gone too far._

 _Vriska rolled her eyes, or at least the one that wasn't covered up by her strange glasses. "Comeeeeeeee ooooooon. Don't be a drag, Terezi! Think of all the things we'll get and do after this is done."_

 _She huffed. "Yeah, we'll get the Handmaid's wrath and do a bunch of chores and work for her. Or at least you will. I've got a warning to give. See you later, Marquise Murderer."_

 _This caused the other girl to narrow her eye and frown, her expression turning angry. Vriska started fuming but Terezi was already running across the bright forest, the soft sound of coins clinking together filling her ears._ Looks like Serket would be gaining nothing this time around _, she thought to herself._

 _Terezi climbed up the tree to the dragon. *Quick! I've got to find Team Charge and give them a message. We don't have much time. Vriska's already planned the murder...*_

 _*Murder? Terezi, what are you getting yourself into?* Pyralspite's mental voice sounded a little concerned as she spread her wings and took flight, red orbs searching the ground far below for the two kids that made up the said FLARP team._

 _*It was her idea to kill Aradia! She's taking it too far!* Terezi responded, keeping both her hands firmly on Pyralspite and the bag of coins tucked safely on the dragon's neck between them, where it wouldn't fall off. Squinting, she could see two dots in the forest clearing below them. Aradia and Tavros. *There they are!*_

 _Pyralspite swooped down towards the Team Charge members as fast as she could go with a relatively safe landing. *Off you go. Good luck!* she said in Terezi's mind after making it to the ground and getting into a position where she could slide off her back. After letting her do that, Pyralspite spread her wings and mightily flew off into the night_ (aka _looking for Redglare)._

 _Terezi watched the large dragon fly off for a second before walking towards the two, who appeared to be looking for treasure. In fact, they were so busy with that it looked like neither of them had even noticed Pyralspite. Serket sure knew how to challenge her opponents._

 _She tapped Tavros on the shoulder, who quickly turned around. "Terezi, uh, what are you doing here.." He stuttered, glancing at Aradia who was now also facing Terezi and had stopped the treasure hunt for just a bit._

 _"I'm here to bring a message, more like a warning." She said firmly, looking Aradia in the eye. "Not to spy on you or anything, obviously. That's more like something Vriska would do — and another thing she would do, and is doing, is plot to murder you, Aradia."_

 _Aradia didn't say anything for a moment, letting that sink in, then finally said, "Okay." She knew Vriska thought she was a threat, and didn't respect Tavros very much, But, she wasn't afraid of Serket. Not in the slightest, She was very much alive, and intended to stay that way, no matter what that Scorpio thought._

 _"Just saying, you should probably watch your backs. Both of you. I always knew Serket had some dangerous schemes hiding up her jacket sleeve, and now she is simply trying to go through with one."_

 _They both nodded. "Thanks for warning us Terezi. Although I might have already seen it coming from someone like her." Aradia spoke._

 _"So, uh," Tavros began, "Are you, still on, um, Vriska's side?"_

 _Terezi had to think about this one for a few seconds. She had always considered Vriska her closest friend, almost like a sister to her, but Serket's personality was just too... bitchy. The girl was definitely a fighter, but she was too much of one. Even though Vriska was a valuable teammate in FLARP, she's still very self-centered. It showed in a lot of the things she did. Terezi figured that she was going to be just like Mindfang - a notorious Gambligant - when she grew up._

" _No." She answered, finally and firmly. "I'd much rather be friends with you guys than with her. At least you don't regularly commit crimes! If she does anything to either of you, I'll personally do her justice."_

 _At that moment there was a loud rustle in the bushes and leaves and then Vriska herself burst into the clearing they were in, on top of none other than a huge white spider. Mindang's spider. "How dare you!" The girl yelled while Spidermom tumbled closer to the three._

" _RUN!" Tavros exclaimed, taking off with treasure Team Charge found. Aradia and Terezi quickly followed. They all knew Spidermom's diet mostly consisted of little humans. Mindfang sometimes personally fed her with fallen crew members._

" _I'll find Pyralspite, and we'll get out of here!" Terezi hollered over the sounds of leaves crunching under the spider's legs as she followed them._

" _Not so fast….." Vriska said, a grin on her face as she easily slid off Spidermom and walked forward._

 _Terezi felt herself being pulled back somehow while Aradia and Tavros kept running for their lives, not noticing. Vriska grinned wider and took off her glasses, revealing her right eye with seven tiny pupils._

 _The revelation didn't surprise the other that much, she thought while Vriska's apparent grip on her loosened. Serket had eyes like everyone else, until one day she went somewhere with Mindfang and came back with the glasses covering her right eye, Terezi always wondered what it was, but never questioned it. Neither did anyone else._

 _Suddenly, Terezi walked a few steps forward and looked up, through the treetops, directly at the sun. It was against her will, under Vriska's mental commands. Her eyes burned red, and she fell, unconscious and blind._

 _The last thing she thought before waking up was that she would make Vriska pay … someday._

* * *

 _ALTERNIAN OCEAN, 00:00. May 6_

You've decided not to sleep today. You'd much rather sit up in the crow's nest and think about how pawsitively great it is that you're a pirate. You sit alone for only an hour or so before you're joined by Karkitty, who jumps back when he sees you. "Hello, brofur! Can't sleep?"

He took a seat next to you, shrugging and still looking out at the water. Karkitty, not talking? Something was definitely bothering him.

"What's wrong, Karkitty?" When he says nothing, you just raise an eyebrow. "Is it about the newbie? Beclaws he seems to really like you."

"He does? I couldn't fucking tell."

"Hey, I'm trying to be a good sister. Quit the sarcasm," you nudge the obviously tired other. "But yeah, I kinda ship it, Karkitty."

"You ship _what_?"

"You and Dave! It would be reeeeally cute!"

"You know, we literally just met today. Or yesterday. Whatever the time is."

"Your point being? You spent pretty much the entire day togefur, you know."

"I know full well what I do with my own damn time, Nepeta. Now, I have an idea. What about you minding your own business?"

"No need to get defurnsive, Karkitty."

"Why shouldn't I get defensive?! You're the one interpreting every fucking thing I do and using it in some stupid way to try and pair me with everyone I fucking talk to! I have a fantastic reason to be defensive!" Karkat crosses his arms, glare boring holes into your head.

"Yep. I'm defurnitely updating my shipping wall."

"Eugh! Did you not hear what I _just fucking said_?"

You smirk, shrugging and climbing out of the crow's nest, leaving your brother there. No doubt he'd fall asleep in a few minutes. You had a shipping wall to update.

* * *

 **A/N: Also, on AO3 there will be some art of kid Terezi with Pyralspite when the picture's finished, you should check over there if you want to see**


	4. Consternation and Safekeeping

**Chapter 4: Consternation and Safekeeping**

 _HALFWAY BETWEEN DERSE AND PROSPIT, 23:25. MAY 5_

The douchewad was making you clean the deck again. Little did he know, the goddamn fucking deck was permanently dirty due to the captain's constant journeys under the sea. Wood doesn't like constantly absorbing filthy sea water. Jake looked pretty into it, though.

After Aradia pretty much stole the kid, she put him in your care. So, in short, everything the first mate orders you to do, he has to do as well. You actually had no idea where the kid even came from. Derse, probably. Dave's note had made it pretty clear that he'd just met Jake as well, but pretty much the entire note was shitty drawings that you're 99% sure no one but you and your bro will be able to interpret.

Kind of like a secret language consisting of terrible life decisions and a pinch of panic. And you doubt anyone else's decide to care about a bunch of doodles. Especially not the Ampasshole, who was noticing your staring off. "Strider! Aren't you supposed to be swwabbing the deck?"

"I've been swabbing it for two straight hours, if you haven't noticed, and I don't think I have the ability to make the water in the floorboards magically evaporate." You make sure the first mate can't see you roll your eyes.

As the caped weirdo grunted and stormed off, your mind drifts back to your brief moment of eye contact with your brother before he'd fallen. Wait… why the fuck had he fallen? Collapsing isn't just a thing normal people do at random times.

Jesus fuck.

You were seriously going to have to calm your shit down before someone noticed your mental freakout.

Jake is giving you a weird look.

Fuckfuckfuckfuck.

"Hey, Dirk. You alright?," you say nothing, hoping that the English kid would just stop caring about you for a second, "You seem quite… blimey… I dunno… out of it?"

You can't seem to meet Jake's eyes, so you just glance back and forth to other crew members, "yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry 'bout me. I'm alright." You attempt a small smile, still trying to keep focus on something- anything.

But what if Dave was dead?

You'd be left with only the Lalonde's for family, and hell knows where they are.

You'd have to manage on your own.

No. You can't let yourself think like this. It's fucking unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Dave's alive. Whatever made him collapse was probably just a dumb pirate drug or something. Nothing to be afraid of, right?

You're snapped out of it when Jake nudges you, a concerned expression on his face. You can't help but let out the tiniest yelp of surprise.

Before English can say anything the ship's captain is standing before you, looking rather irritated. She quickly wiped that look off of her face, giving both you and Jake a wide smile.

"So, the two of you haven't got much knowledge about the Empress's Revenge, so I figured you'd might as well learn now!"

You have no doubt you look like the most confused pirate on all of the Alternian.

Jake, however, looks excited.

"Come on, landwellers! Stand up!" Feferi chirped. The English kid scrambled to his feet, pulling you up afterwards. For some reason, you're not entirely ready to trust the captain, even if she'd taken you in. There's just something about her that seems... fishy.

You brush some of the seaweed off of you, wrinkling your nose at the smell of it. The green stuff makes a sort of splat noise as it hits the deck.

Gross.

Peixes then proceeds to show you around the upper deck, stopping when you stepped on a trapdoor-looking thing. "What's down there?" English tapped the wood boards with his foot, and you hear a little hollow thump every time his boot hit the paneling. Feferi's eyes widened a little.

"Just some... uh... mops. Yeah, mops." The captain grinned to try and hide her fairly obvious lie. You see through her bullshit and raise an eyebrow. "So can we go down there? Mops'd be really helpful since we're constantly forced to scrub the deck."

"No!" Peixes answered a little too quickly. Jake nudged you and gave you a "stop messing with the captain" sort of look. You blink innocently, looking back at the fish princess. "I doubt mops are dangerous. Unless what's down there isn't really mops."

Feferi glared at you and gave an aggravated squeak, which you find hard to take seriously, especially since she was shorter than you. By a lot. The top of her head barely even reached your shoulder. So you stood, trying not to laugh, as the weird pink gill things on your captain's neck flared in annoyance. "You're shella lucky I'm your captain rather than Vriska. She'd have gladly fed you to her spider. And I'll gladly feed you to my... underwater frond if you don't hush up. Alright?"

English's look is telling you to stop talking as well, so you smirk and cross your arms, saying nothing more. You're pretty sure you got your point across.

After Feferi stormed away, Jake turned to you. "Are you bloody kidding me? I'd like to be on her good side, if you don't mind."

* * *

 _ALTERNIAN OCEAN, 04:35. MAY 6_

In the ungodly hour of four the morning, you roll off your cot, successfully waking yourself up. "Dammit," you groan, rubbing your eyes and sitting up, suddenly reminded of the cut on your side as a burst of pain hits it. You'd have to get Karks to fix that up for you again. And preferably soon, since the new splotches of red on the bandaging didn't seem to want to stop appearing.

You roll over to look at the now unoccupied corner of the room. The floorboards were cold, so you're assuming Vantas'd been gone for a while. You try not to yelp as you stand up, using the wall for support. Your shaky legs obviously weren't a good sign, so you use the wall as much as you can in your six foot journey to the door, which was helpfully still open.

The hallway looked pretty much endless in the dark. Fantastic.

You decide not to waste your little energy walking and take a break to think about where the hell Karkat could possibly be. The deck would probably be a good place to start, but you dunno if you can get up the stairs without hurting yourself more.

You shut your eyes and lean your head against the wall, jumping a little when you hear scraping noises coming from the hall.

You do your best to hobble in the general direction of the sounds, resting your ear on the door and listening in. Someone was humming, scratching things into the wall. You open the door a crack, peeking in.

Nepeta squeaked a bit in surprise before trotting over to the door, obscuring your view of the wall. "Hi! What're you doing up so early?"

"Just lookin' for someone to fix up some bandages," you manage to get the few words out before clenching your fist as a new bit of hurt stabbed your abdomen.

"I can't help you there, but I could purrobably get you Karkitty or Kanaya, if you'd like."

"That'd be fantastic. Thanks." Leijon nods and slips out the door, shutting it quickly afterwards and leading you down the hall and to the stairway. You glare at the light wood, muttering meaningless insults at it as the catgirl helped you up. After you'd conquered the stairs, you took a moment to regain some strength.

"I wonder where Vantas's gotten off to," you mumble, looking around as an idea comes to your head.

"Karkat's a crab!" You say as loudly as you can, which honestly isn't very loud.

"WHO THE FUCK SAID THAT."

"There he is," you look to at the crow's nest, where you'd heard the unmistakably Karkat-like voice. Nepeta glanced at the nets, then at you, raising an eyebrow. You were about to try and get her to go up and get Karkles when you see a head of dark hair pop out from the top of the nest.

"You're a fucking asshole, Strider." You smirk and shrug, trying to keep from looking like you were in pain. Vantas then turned his head towards Nep, "And what the everloving fuck are you doing here? I thought you'd left to 'fix' your stupid wall."

"Good to see you too, Karkitty!"

You could tell Karkat was rolling his eyes as he slid down the ropes, landing on the deck a few meters away with a quiet thump. "It's too early for bullshit, so tell me what you want or go away." He seemed more focused on Leijon than you, so you leaned all of your body weight on the main mast, drumming your fingers on your thigh.

"It's actually Dave here that requested your purresence. You might wanna ask him what he wants instead of me." Karkles raised an eyebrow and looked back at you, crossing his arms. "This'd better be good, asshole."

You move your arm away from the now nearly red piece of cloth, glancing down at it. "Bandage's red. Don't think that's a good thing." You shrug, trying to ignore your skin's complaints.

You see his eyes widen a tiny bit, "The fuck did you do? Those were supposed to last until late tonight."

You smirk slightly. "Heheh. May or may not've rolled right off your cot."

Karkat rolled his eyes again, mumbling "dumbass" before looking down at the ground.

Nepeta pretty much kills whatever moment was happening by bursting into a fit of giggles, immediately silencing herself as Vantas glared daggers at her.

"So, uh, have you got any new bandages or anything?" You can't help but look to the side, trying not to meet anyone's eyes. "Um, yeah. They're back in the room, though. So, you can just follow me there, I guess." Karkat shrugged, absentmindedly tapping his foot.

"Yeah, okay. Then you can get s'more sleep, if you want." You shrug as Vantas nods.

"First things first," Karkles turned back to Nepeta, pointing at her, "fuck off. I don't need your crap while I'm trying to keep this idiot-" he glanced at you, "from getting a goddamn infection. Alright?"

"But what if I want to help?"

"Then I'll tell Terezi about-"

"Okay fine! You win. I'll go away," you blinked and glanced at Leijon, whose face seemed to be bright red. You couldn't tell if that was due to irritation or embarrassment, but she seemed pretty caught off guard by Vantas's threat.

"That's what I thought. Now run along, weirdo." Karkat was smirking, seeming satisfied with his small victory. Nep pouted and walked away, mumbling things about the walls.

"What the hell was that all about, Karkles?"

"Uhh... Nothing. Now go downstairs so I can fix you."

You shrug and nod, struggling down the first few steps. "Do you need me to help you down the stairs, shitstain?" Vantas seems distracted with looking at you, and he stumbles down a few of the stairs, eventually catching his balance.

You chuckle, "Nah. And I warned you 'bout the stairs, bro. Shoulda listened."

Karkat seemed flustered, which made you savour the tiny moment even more. "I'm fine, nookwhiff. Fuck you. And, by the way, you didn't actually warn me about the stairs."

"I did. Maybe you were just too distracted gazing into my weirdass eyes to hear."

"Fuck off, asshole. Do you want me to help you not die or not?" You roll your eyes and hop down the rest of the stairs, letting out a small yelp when you felt your cut rub against the bandage.

Karkles grabbed your wrist, practically pulling you into the nice cinnamon-smelling room. "Woah there, Karcrab. Slow down."

"Sit." You blink and nod, taking a seat on the bed. Vantas pulls your shirt up a little so he could get to the bloody bandages, and you whine a tiny bit at the sudden cold air on your stomach. Karkat looks up at you and mutters a "hush up" before gently removing the wad of red cloth from your side, inspecting the now reasonably sized gash.

You stay silent, watching the ceiling while Karks patches you up. After he's done, he lets your shirt fall back down to it's normal position. "Don't do anymore stupid shit. I might get tired of fixing your mistakes."

"Aye aye, cap'n Vantas."

"And stop being a dork. Nepeta's being weird about it." Karcrab sat cross-legged, across from you on his bed.

You just shrug. "And, before I forget to ask, what's up with you and Nep? Are you..."

"Fuck no! She's my sister, dumbass!"

"Ohhhh okay. That makes sense."

"Why do you care, anyways?" Vantas practically growled, averting his eyes.

"Oh, uh, no reason. Just wondering." The silence that follows is probably the awkwardest you've felt in your entire life. "You can still get some sleep, if you want."

"I'm already awake. No use in even trying to sleep now."

"Well then I guess you gotta tell me more 'bout Lion City, or whatever it was called." Karkat's head shot up as he looked back at you. "How the hell did you hear about that place?"

"Uh, you kinda told me some stuff about it earlier."

"But you were asle-" he paused, glaring at you. "You piece of shit."

* * *

 _THE CRUSADER, 08:08. MAY 6_

"Kanaya?"

Vriska seemed pretty occupied looking at a fancy little gold piece, so she didn't even look up at you as she spoke. "Yes, Vriska? What do you need?"

"Can you keep a secret?" You're caught rather off guard by the question, but you nod nonetheless, "I believe that I can."

"See this?" She held up the small gold piece as you nod again, "this nifty little trinket right here is your new best friend."

"And why exactly is that? It seems like an average coin to me."

"I'll give a few pieces to you. Come back in a couple hours or so and report your findings. I'm not in the mood to explain it all to you."

"Uhm, alright?" You have pretty much no idea what is going on at all, but you suppose you have no choice but to go along with your captain's wishes. Serket drops four little coins into your hand before dismissing you.

Obviously the first thing you're going to do is talk to Rose about your encounter. And give her three of the coins for safekeeping. What could go wrong?


End file.
